Pipernater : the pipe hibernation system

ABSTRACT

An apparatus composed of a 15″ long by 3″ diameter reservoir, joined by an adjustable, water tight 2″ diameter union to a 6″ long and 1.5″ diameter elbow with a standard female hose spigot connector for connecting to and/introducing forced air by way of any standard vacuum cleaner to purge water from a plumbing system and to then introduce antifreeze into said plumbing system in a simple and expeditious manner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APLLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of provisional application 62/070,803 filed on Sep. 5, 014

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

In the latitudes where the winter seasons or winter months bring below freezing temperatures, it is incumbent upon the owner or occupant of certain/particular structures, featuring indoor plumbing, to take steps to prevent the freezing of the liquid or fluid within the plumbing systems. Structures of this kind include recreational vehicles, boats/yachts, as well as residences, particularly cottages in a remote area and nominally not in use during the winter months.

Many people own cottages or other structures, eg. lodges, located in remote regions such as by a lake for fishing or a wilderness area for hunting, which are frequently occupied during the summer months, including spring and fall. With the onset of winter, these cottages, lodges, resort, etc., are necessarily winterized in order to prevent damage to the plumbing by the onset of freezing weather, yielding frozen pipes, as well as burst pipes due to the expansion accompanying the water turning to solid ice after sufficient exposure to ambient temperature below freezing. Similarly, recreational vehicles such as trailers, both of the kind that are pulled by motorized vehicle, or self-contained motor homes are stored during the winter months and used only in the times of clement moderate weather encountered in the spring, summer or in the fall of the normal seasons and same is true of boats. Many feature interior plumbing systems for conveying water from a source to the various sink, lavatories, bathrooms, and kitchen regions necessarily and desirably featuring a supply of water, both hot and cold, for the convenience of the person or persons occupying the particular unit in the summer months.

In addition to boats, yachts, and land traversing recreational vehicles such as mobile homes/trailers etc., which are generally known to be stored in the off season; there is also the non-movable type of dwelling which are built in a remote region as perhaps as around a lake, forest, or a stream for use for a recreational purpose principally in the spring, summer, and fall. The same structures, including cottages, lodges, etc., are unoccupied during the winter months and should therefore be winterized to avoid the formation of ice in the piping, whether it is metal or plastic and therefore subject to damage if the water inside the pipe freezes, with accompanying expansion. Such expansion almost always results in a fracture or breaking of the pipe, or possibly the valve, or whatever part of the plumbing, to the financial detriment of the owner who must underwrite rather expensive replacement of the broken pipes, valves, or whatever is part of the plumbing systems. This expense can be considerable when it is realized that the pipes constituting the plumbing system for conveyance of water throughout the vehicle, boat/yacht, cottage, or lodge may proceed in relatively inaccessible regions; which may require removal of a structural component of the mobile home, boat/yacht, cottage, or lodge, in order to provide access to the freeze damaged length of pipe or the particular fitting adversely affected by the freezing temperature in the winter months.

Now the problem or phenomenon of the freezing pipe or plumbing in the general plumbing system within the mobile home, boat/yacht, cottage, or lodges is generally well know.

It has been known that one expedient which may be used to avoid the problem is to bleed the water from the plumbing system entirely and replace it with a potable liquid formulated to remain liquid over a range of temperatures associated with the particular latitude or the degree of severity of the winter associated with the particular geographic location. Commercial liquids have been formulated and are available to the public at large. The containers bear labels which are informative as to the temperature conditions which may be used without freezing. Generally the liquids are color-coded a pink color for identification purposes.

In some cases a simple opening of the faucet and allowing the water to drain by gravity is used and antifreeze introduced into the plumbing system, by any variety or techniques. Many of these drain and replace techniques however provide inadequate protection, since all of the water is not withdrawn from the system due to the positioning of the piping and in the particular system under consideration.

In earlier days, winterization of the plumbing systems, as described herein, was accomplished primarily by opening all valves and outlets, and drain in the hope that water within the plumbing or tubing making tip the plumbing would drain from the system, thereby avoiding the freezing of water within the system with ultimate expansion, fracture or damage to the plumbing itself. It was often discovered however, that merely allowing gravity to cause downward movement of the water in the system at the lowest point hopefully a drain or faucet at the lower level, did not always work; due to the fact that the plumbing was so convoluted and complicated that there were regions of the plumbing that retained collected water. For example, a long length of pipe might have a sag in it, which would retain water. In another case scenario the plumbing would he such as to define a U configuration providing a trap region, from which water could not flow. As a consequence of this and other scenarios, water was retained in the plumbing system and became frozen as the temperature dropped, resulting in plumbing fracture or pipe fracture in the system, adding to the yearly maintenance charge, for example having to replace the plumbing, frequently at considerable expense.

It then became a practice in the art to introduce air, as by a source of compressed air, through the system, and to add a liquid antifreeze, which would not freeze at the ambient conjunction, but which was potable and uninjurious to the user of the system the following spring after allowing the usually pink colored liquid antifreeze to drain, before connecting the plumbing system up to a source of water, following which the system is flushed, and ultimately even the residual antifreeze, albeit potable, is eliminated from the system.

It has become common practice to employ both compressed air (or a flushing with air) followed by addition of the liquid antifreeze, having a compositional makeup, yielding a freezing point, adequate to the latitude in which the system is located.

As indicated, the patents enumerated hereinabove, and discussed briefly disclose a number of systems, techniques and connections for accomplishing for a winterization of one or more types of the plumbing systems in question.

I am aware that additionally a number of patents have issued disclosing variety of systems and techniques for draining water from the system and replacing it with a liquid antifreeze to avoid the fractured, broken, or ruptured piping problem due to freezing of the water at the temperature encountered at that particular geographic location.

One such patent is U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,617, dated Sep. 1, 1981, to Marvin Bedient. Another such technique is disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,968 issued Feb. 6, 1996 to John Price and Michael Way. Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,310, dated Apr. 16, 1996, and issued to David Sordello and Carl Engstrom. Yet another winterizing system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,031, dated Jul. 23, 1996, to Shelby and Diana Brence. Another apparatus/method for winterizing seasonal dwellings is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,182 issued Oct. 14, 1997 to George McMullen and David Watson. One last patent is U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,620 B1 May 29, 2001, to Patrick B. Ferguson.

A careful detailed examination of each of the aforesaid patents reveals the disclosure of a number and variety of plumbing systems requiring winterization, that is by removal of water and substitution of an antifreeze liquid which will not freeze at the temperatures water freezes, namely 32° F. and below. The examination also reveals that the systems, apparatus, equipment, and techniques described in said patents are cumbersome, are complicated, and utterly fail to disclose, suggest, or teach the novel multifunctional tool of this invention. By multifunctional, I mean just that that the tool serves in the rapid removal of water from the plumbing system and it also serves in the introduction of replacement fluid (which is an antifreeze), into the system whereby the pipes will not burst due to expanding ice as the temperature drops.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of tools or implements. More particularly the invention relates to a tool/implement, which is multi-functional in that it serves to introduce forced air into a plumbing system, and secondly thereafter introducing liquid antifreeze into a closed plumbing system.

Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a novel, tool, which assists in two ways in the winterizing of the plumbing system for a recreational vehicle, boat/yacht, house, cottage, or other structure which is possessed of an interior plumbing system which is desirably shut down during the winter months, when the temperature falls below the freezing point 32° F. The tool of this invention can be easily connected to a standard household vacuum or air compressor and easily connected to the appropriate plumbing fixture inlet of any of the systems referred to hereinabove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus and describing its components.

FIG. 2 is the same side elevation view listing and describing the devices design specifications.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the device indicating how it may be implemented.

In its simplest embodiment, the present invention comprises a plastic (PVC) reservoir with the upper end being modified to interchange components for connection to a standard household vacuum or air compressor for the introduction of forced air and anti-freeze and the lower end being modified for connection to a faucet or spigot as shown.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, therein disclosed in FIG. 1 the device: Contains an inlet (2) (7) which threads (3) unite the reservoir (4). For standard large vacuum hoses, the device also contains an adaptor (1) to accommodate said vacuums. A water-tight, air-tight, molded plastic reservoir angle adjustor (5), to accommodate any water supply and a molded plastic hose bib connector (6) to introduce the device to any common water supply. These features of construction allows and provides the dual functionality of the device, in a manner as will be described hereinafter in connection with the operation and use of the tool for the purpose, for which it has the greatest ability; that is in the winterization of plumbing systems for the variety of vehicles and structures described herein. All design specifications can be found in FIG. 2.

While I have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, and have described and illustrated the invention, as set forth in the drawings, it would be appreciated that this disclosure is for purposes of illustration only. And that one reasonably skilled in the art may make many obvious substitutions of material or contour configuration as clearly calculated to accomplish the same purposes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, unless to do so would be violative of the scope of the appendent claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The device is intended to complete the purging of water from a water system of an RV, a boat, a cottage or a summer home, and then to introduce a non-toxic anti-freeze, so as to protect the pipes from freezing during winter storage. The device is unique in that it is a relatively small, light-weight, hand-held portable tool that easily attaches to any faucet in the home or RV. This along with the utilization of any standard household vacuum cleaner or air compressor permits the user to easily and completely purge water for the household, RV or boat water system consisting of the pipes making up the plumbing system and to introduce anti-freeze as described.

It goes without saying, that the anti-freeze liquid can be replenished by simply removing the reservoir cap (FIG. 1. (2) or (7)) and introducing another quantity of the liquid antifreeze, replacing the reservoir cap and reintroducing the vacuum.

The advantages of the tool device of the present invention are apparent from the foregoing description of the operation of the unit. Thus the unit is quite multifunctional in that it can be used to distribute/introduce pressure from a standard household vacuum or air compressor to the system under consideration and, the same unit, can be used to introduce the liquid antifreeze to the plumbing system, constituting the unit under consideration. This tool is intended to be used as a portable tool, and does not need to be incorporated as a permanent part of the facilities water system, albeit a residential home, an RV or a boat.

It should be noted with emphasis that the conduit tool of the present invention enhances and expedites the accomplishment of both functions eg., the water expulsion, and the introduction of the liquid antifreeze, which may usually reflect itself on increased profit and lower cost to the customer of the tradesmen employing the present tool.

To use the tool if the present invention:

-   -   Locate the water lines you wish to winterize and isolate them by         shutting off the supply to the area.     -   1. With the water now turned off, open all the faucets in the         isolated system and allow the existing pressure to bleed the         lines. Don't forget to flush the toilet until the bowl stops         filling.

2. At this point, all of the pressure has been evacuated from the pipes. Now turn off the cold water at all of the faucets, leaving only one open.

-   -   3. At the outside hose bib or any other threaded male connection         in the isolated system (eg, hot water heater purge), connect The         Pipernater by screwing the connection (FIG 1. (6)) clockwise         until tight. Adjust reservoir (FIG 1. (4)) to desired fill angle         using reservoir angle adjuster (FIG 1. (5)).     -   4. Ensure the vacuum cleaner is set to “blow” and insert hose         into designated area on The Pipernater and tighten. If using the         air compressor adaptor, connect to compressor hose.     -   5. Now it is safe to start the vacuum or air compressor to begin         water evacuation. With the vacuum or air compressor running,         return to the isolated water pipe area. Observe the open faucet.         If no water is being emitted, the supply line is free of water.     -   6. With the faucet still open, move to the next cold water         faucet and open it. Return to the previous water faucet and turn         it off. This will isolate the next cold water faucet.     -   7. Repeat step 7 as needed.     -   8. When the final faucet is free of water, be sure to leave it         open. Now flush the toilet and hold the handle down. With the         handle held down, shut off the last water faucet. This will         isolate the toilet water supply line. Hold flush handle down         until no water is emitted into the toilet tank. (If no toilet is         present is isolated water system, disregard steps 9 and 10.)     -   9. With the toilet handle still down, open the nearest cold         water faucet. It is now safe to release the flush handle.     -   10. Return to The Pipernater and turn of vacuum or air         compressor.     -   11. Remove can from reservoir and till with antifreeze.     -   12. Reinstall cap and reinsert vacuum hose (ensuring it is still         set to “blow”) or air compressor hose.     -   13. Turn of vacuum or air compressor.     -   14. Return to open faucet. When you view the antifreeze emitting         from the faucet, move to the next faucet and open it.     -   15. Close the previous faucet. Return to the faucet you just         opened. When you view the antifreeze emitting from the faucet         repeat steps 15 and 16 as needed.     -   16. At your last faucet, view the antifreeze being emitted. With         faucet still open power off it supply.     -   17. Close last faucet and you are now winterized. 

1. In the light of the foregoing, it may be stated as a principle object of the principle invention to provide a novel, simple, uncomplicated, multifunctional, and a unitary device which is useful in the winterizing treatment or the plumbing, constituting the water system of a variety of homes, vehicles, mobile homes, boats, yachts, and etc. It is another object of the present invention to provide such a simplified and inexpensive device, which is capable of use for the intended purpose by an individual with little or no assistance. It is another object of the present invention to provide such a device, as referred to and described herein, which is extremely lightweight, whereby it may be easily manipulated and used by the one seeking to accomplish the purposes for which the tool is intended. The foregoing, and as well as other objects of the present invention, will become apparent to those skilled in the art taken in conjunction with the annexed sheet of drawings, on which there is presented, for purposes of illustration only, a single embodiment of the present invention. 